A little over a month ago, we launched an online survey to gauge the opinion of the community on the direction of Jeffco Public Schools and to get feedback on possible fall election questions. To date, we’ve had almost 1,900 people respond to the survey and, based on the results, respondents show strong support for the direction Jeffco Public Schools is headed and support for possible election questions in the fall.

Before we launch into an analysis of the data, an important caveat is in order. While this survey was open to the entire community, most of the respondents were people with some connection to Jeffco Public Schools – parents, teachers, and/or staff. While the support of these groups is critically important, we should exercise some caution before generalizing these results to the larger Jeffco community.

Support for Jeffco Public Schools Strong

So what did respondents say? We first asked about the direction Jeffco Public Schools was headed. 59.6 percent of respondents said the district was headed in the “Right Direction,” compared to just 9.6 percent who said Jeffco was on the “Wrong Track.” Just over thirty percent (30.8) of respondents were in the middle, answering “Unsure.” The key takeaway here is respondents were supportive of the direction Jeffco Public Schools is headed outnumbered detractors by about a 6:1 margin.

Respondents also strongly believed Jeffco Public Schools needed additional funding. When asked “Do you believe Jeffco Public Schools needs additional funding?” respondents overwhelmingly agreed with 89.9 percent of either responding “strongly agree” or “agree,” compared to 10.1 percent who were neutral or disagreed.

Safety & Security Tops Priorities for Construction Needs

We next asked questions about construction and facilities’ needs, and where people thought new dollars in these areas should be directed. These needs are typically funded through an election measure called a “bond,” where the district asks the voters for permission to sell bonds on the bond market and then use a property tax to repay those bonds (with interest) over a period of 20 years. These results are presented in the table below.

Safety and security lead the pack in this group, with 80.1 percent. Given the coverage of school violence we’ve seen across the country this past year, this result perhaps not surprising – people seem to want a greater investment in schools safety and security. Close behind this was an interest in addressing basic building needs such as roofing, HVAC, paint, and flooring. Coming in a close third was improved building technology access and additional career/technical education options, especially those focusing on STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math). Still polling strong, but not as robust as other results, was support for improved building efficiency and modernized classroom learning spaces.

Recruit & Retain Quality Teachers & Staff a Major Priority

Next came a series of questions for support of ongoing operational needs, which are used for the ongoing costs associated with funding schools. Funds for these needs are typically increased through a ballot question called a “mill levy override,” which adds to school funding provided from the state through a property tax increase and all funds from a mill levy override stay local. There is another possibility for funding these needs that may appear on the ballot being put forth by a group called “Great Schools, Thriving Communities,” or Initiative 93. More on that in a minute.

So, what were respondents’ priorities when it comes to ongoing needs? The table below summarizes these responses.

Ongoing Needs

Percent "Extremely" or "Very" Important

Attracting and retaining talented teachers and staff.

95%

Add more counseling and mental health supports.

79.6%

Lower class size.

72.7%

Replacing outdated textbooks and learning materials.

71.4%

Adding career/technical education programming.

71.3%

Adding arts, music, and theater programming.

69.1%

Provide greater student access to technology for learning.

67.6%

Expanding early childhood education options.

65.9%

Adding physical education and outdoor programming.

64.7%

Eliminating or reducing student fees for things such as technology, athletics/activities, and transportation.

32.7%

Here, a clear priority emerged around “attracting and retaining talented teachers and staff” with 95 percent identifying this as “extremely” or “very” important. Ostensibly, this means greater compensation for Jeffco Public Schools employees. Coming in second, was support for adding more counseling and mental health supports, at almost 80 percent. Again, this may not be surprising given the national school violence issue, but it seems to be a strong issue of interest in Jeffco. The next set of priorities clustered together with lower class size (72.7 percent), replacing outdated textbooks and learning materials (71.4 percent), and adding career/technical education programs (71.3 percent). Close behind, support for arts, music, and theater programs, student technology, early childhood education, physical and outdoor education all came in the 70-60 percent range. A far distant priority was eliminating some student fees, at 32.7 percent support.

Support for Jeffco Ballot Questions Strong

Next, we asked respondents directly if they would support a ballot question for construction projects (a bond) and/or a ballot question for ongoing funding needs (a mill levy override). Support for both was positive.

Support for Ballot Questions

Percent Supporting "a great deal" or "a lot"

Would you support a ballot question for construction projects?

68.4%

Would you support a ballot question for ongoing operational expenses?

72.4%

A successful election for schools requires a simple majority approval (50 percent plus one vote) to pass. Based on these results among those with connections to Jeffco Public Schools, there seems to be strong support for these questions to appear on the ballot.

Strong Support for Great Schools, Thriving Communities – Once People Understand It

It is also possible that a state-level ballot initiative would appear on the ballot that would substantially increase school funding in Colorado (and in Jeffco). We asked people about their familiarity with the proposal and then asked them about their support for it after they had been informed.

As you can see, familiarity with this proposal is mixed. However, once respondents were informed of the proposal, their support was strong, as can be seen on the following graph.

The big takeaway here is that familiarity with the Great Schools, Thriving Communities proposal is decidedly mixed. However, once people understand it, there is fairly strong support. This issue would amend the Colorado Constitution, and requires a higher bar to even get on the ballot for the fall. We will continue to monitor the progress of this measure to see if it makes the ballot so we can inform our community of the potential pros and cons accordingly.

Next Steps for Jeffco Public Schools

Looking ahead, we’ll be conducting community meetings all across Jeffco through the summer and into the fall, gathering more information. The Board of Education has the final say in how and if Jeffco Public Schools decides to put these questions on the ballot for the November 2018 election, and they must do so by late August.

I encourage you to discuss this data and your thoughts on possible election questions with your neighbors and community members. We will also leave the survey open and collect data through the summer, so if you didn’t get a chance to be heard, you can do so here. Thanks to everyone for providing your input and have a great summer!

Jeffco Public Schools has been providing educational excellence for more than 60 years. Our mission is to provide a quality education that prepares all children for a successful future.